In landscape photography, planning can make or break a shot. Capturing great images rarely results from just wandering around aimlessly at any time of day.
There is a certain level of planning involved that cannot only make you more prepared when taking the picture but also more prepared for the external variables (like location and weather elements).
Mobile apps are often the best choice when planning for a photography outing. But there’s just one small problem.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of photography-related applications on both iOS and Android.
So which ones are the best? And with those, which ones are free, or absolutely necessary?
In this article, I will show you the 5 most useful landscape photography apps for both iOS and Android that will transform your photography!
1. Photopills
Plan and shoot!
I have talked about Photopills in many previous articles. Why? Because it is hands down one of the best apps for landscape and astrophotography PERIOD!
I discovered Photopills a little over 4 years ago and it has completely changed the way I approach shooting a new location and/or scouting new compositions. It is a one-stop app that is perfect for any photographers looking to plan their next epic shot!
In a nutshell, Photopills gives you the ability to see where the Moon, Sun, and Milky Way will be, at any location, and at any time.
It offers moonrise and moonset times (same with the Sun), and gives you an Augmented Reality showing, so you can see exactly where the moon or Milky Way will be.
Along with that, it also offers a great array of other functions, such as a Depth of Field (DOF) calculator, a timelapse calculator, and so much more!
It is the ultimate photography planning app.
On many sites, you’ll see a list of 20 or 30 photography apps with one or two functions.
A little secret… Photopills has most of these functions included, meaning you don’t have to load your phone up with 20 different apps!
You can learn more bout Photopills here, and download it from iOS and Android for $9.99. (Trust me, it’s worth it!!)
2. Snapseed
Moving into the editing side, we have Snapseed, which is an amazing mobile photo editor.
Snapseed is available on both iOS and Android and offers a great variety of editing tools.
One of my personal favorites is the Selective tool, where you can select a certain part of the image and adjust the brightness, contrast, and saturation to that singular area accordingly.
The app even allows you to blend two photos together and make a double exposure!
You can get Snapseed free for Android and iOS devices.
3. Google Earth
Google Earth is the best app for planning out any future trips.
Worried about the terrain or landscape you’re going to be photographing? Google Earth’s got you covered.
You can use the Street View function to know exactly what a certain area looks like from a standing perspective.
Google Earth has been around for years and years and continues to be an outstanding app for landscape photographers!
Download Google Earth for free on Android or iOS.
4. Weather Underground
Screenshot from Reddit
Weather Underground is a great and reliable weather app that provides detailed descriptions of your location’s forecast.
It also allows you to build custom forecast notifications, meaning if you are looking to go out shooting when there is a thunderstorm, you can create a filter for that.
Whenever conditions are looking to replicate a thunderstorm, it will alert you to (safely) go out and photograph!
You can download Weather Underground for free on iOS and Android.
5. Instagram
Last but not least is the holy grail of “photo” apps… Instagram!
Although Instagram has a huge reputation for countless selfies, it is a great platform to share your photography and connect with other photographers!
It can also lead to potential photo jobs. Instead of posting what you’re eating for dinner, treat Instagram like your portfolio. Post your best work, use the right hashtags, and best of all, become inspired by others’ work!
You can download Instagram for free on Android and iOS.
Hope you download some of these apps and use them to elevate your photography even more!
Have fun and keep photographing!
